2009 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year

Roger Wang

 

In 1970, H. Roger Wang came to Hammond from Taiwan with a Bachelor's Degree in economics that he received from Chinese Culture University. He was a member of the first graduating class of Southeastern's MBA program. With his MBA in hand, he traveled from Hammond to Los Angeles where he became a manager for Thrifty Drug Stores. There he learned valuable merchandising, marketing, inventory, and stockroom skills. Later he became involved in the insurance industry, a niche retailer, and a residential and commercial real estate developer.

Then in 1992, a trip to Nanjing, China to visit friends and survey business opportunities took him down the path he travels today – the establishment of Golden Eagle International Group.

After having become a U.S. citizen in 1978, Mr. Wang now spends half of his time in California and the other in China.

The Golden Eagle story begins with Mr. Wang partnering with the industrial and commercial Bank of China on a proposed 60-story office building in Nanjing. The bank was to provide a significant part of the financing for the project. However, when the bank changed its mind, Mr. Wang had to think fast. Taking a different course for the proposed 60-story office building, he came up with a new plan and quickly redesigned the building to accommodate a consignment department on the first six floors of the uncompleted building. Construction continued on the upper levels with Mr. Wang bringing in a Crowne Plaza Hotel. In 1997 the exquisite building was complete.

Thus the journey into retail department stores in China began for Mr. Wang. Along the way, to fine tune his business, Mr. Wang bought a software company and helped it develop a program for running retail operations. He insisted the program be user friendly, something middle managers could use, remembering the struggles he had faced as a manager of an American drugstore.

 Focusing on providing value to each and every customer, and setting a policy of satisfaction guaranteed, Golden Eagle now has 16 department stores throughout three Chinese provinces and the international city of Shanghai. Golden Eagle Real Estate Group has developed over 1.26 million square meters of commercial and residential space throughout these provinces as well.

With a goal of being the best high end retail fashion chain business in China, in 2006 Golden Eagle Retail Group LTD. Began trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange. With access to capital and seasoned management expertise, Golden Eagle has made a series of successful mergers, acquisitions and asset-reorganizations. In 2004, Golden Eagle successfully purchased the state-owned commercial enterprise, Nan Jing Shing Bay Investment Holdings Group LTD. shareholder of Shing Jeck Ko Department Stores LTD.